VRML for LHC Engineering

Abstract

CERN is about to start building the LHC (Large Hadron Collider), which at its completion, in the year 2004, will be the world’s largest machine for High Energy Physics. The LHC-system will be designed, engineered and manufactured in a distributed manner by about three hundred institutions around the world. One of the challenges to be taken up will be that of the technical information exchange for design and documentation purposes, between all the partners involved. In particular, being able to access current or previous designs, in a seamless manner, is essential. By combining into a single tool, called i3D, the 3D input and high-performance rendering capabilities of high-end VR systems with the data-fetching capabilities of network browsers, we are able to handle the distributed nature of the LHC project and address some of its information management issues. In particular, by accessing individual parts and subsystems directly from the site where they are being designed, we are able to reflect the distributed structure of the design process and make available virtual prototypes that are always in sync with the latest design. The browsing capabilities of the system allows us to attach documents of any kind of media to each three-dimensional objects, offering a means to structure technical information and to present it under the most suited media.